Yvette Young: Why Yoru Guitar Should Shine Brighter Than Your Amp
Your guitar’s tone is shaped by your fingers and the instrument itself. Consider the significant impact that different tonewoods and pickups have on a guitar’s sound.
Now, ponder this: if you had too choose, would you opt for a budget guitar paired with a premium amplifier, or a high-end guitar with a budget amp?
For Yvette Young, the talented math-rock guitarist from covet, the answer is straightforward. In her conversation with Guitarist, she emphasizes that there’s “no reason” to invest in a top-tier guitar if the amplifier can’t do it justice.
“It’s akin to ruining a high-quality audio track with a poor playback system,” she explains. “Why bother? I’d much rather invest in a superior amp,” she adds.
moreover, Young points out that a “cheap guitar” doesn’t equate to a poor-quality instrument. “I own numerous affordable guitars that still deliver extraordinary sound for their price,” she notes.
Her personal rig features a boutique Silktone amp alongside her P90-equipped ibanez Talman. Excitingly, she is set to release her third signature guitar with Ibanez, further solidifying her collaboration with the renowned Japanese luthier.
“I typically use[[[[Vox]AC30s,but I truly appreciate how the Silktone allows me to achieve a rich sound without sacrificing clarity,” she shares.
“It’s incredibly well-balanced. Charles Henry,the owner of Silktone,is fantastic—I’ll always sing his praises; he’s an exceptional individual. Those amps produce such a smooth tone, and I feel they elevate my playing,” she adds.
choosing the Right Guitar: Yvette’s Insights
When it comes to selecting a guitar, Young has some valuable advice. “Make sure to test the guitar with your own setup,” she suggests. “Sometimes, if you’re using a different amp, it might sound brighter than what you’re accustomed to. try to replicate the environment where you’ll be using the guitar as closely as possible.”
Recently, young celebrated the launch of her first signature modulation pedal, the Walrus Audio Qi Etherealizer. This innovative stompbox, wich she helped design over a rigorous two-year period, aims to inspire creativity in musicians.
“Having been an art teacher, I frequently enough describe music in visual terms,” Young explains. “The toughest part of creating is frequently enough just getting started. We tend to feel anxious, worrying that our first attempt must be flawless. But I know from painting that once I lay down a wash of color, that anxiety fades away as I’ve moved past the blank canvas.”
“With the Qi Ethereal, I envisioned it as an ambient tool and a source of inspiration, allowing you to play alongside yourself and create a fuller sound. Ideally, it should help your guitar sound less like a traditional guitar!”
Young’s pedalboard is a testament to her unique tone-shaping approach, featuring a DigitTech Whammy Ricochet and a Hologram Electronics Microcosm, which combines looping, granular sampling, delay, reverb, pitch modulation, and filtering capabilities. She describes this versatile pedal as “absolutely essential for me.”
additionally, her setup includes two EarthQuaker Devices pedals—the Warden optical compressor and the Avalanche Run delay—alongside a Meris MercuryX for chorus, vibrato, and reverb, and an Electronic Audio Experiments Longsword overdrive.
Yvette Young: A Rising Star in the Guitar World
Young is part of a new wave of musicians that have caught the attention of guitar legend Steve Vai, who has expressed his admiration for her talent.She has participated in several editions of his annual Vai Academy,where she and Vai collaborated in 2022 on a vibrant,80s-inspired jam session—a moment she described as “a gift.”
Vai himself has praised her, stating, “Yvette is an incredibly artistic individual.Her guitar playing and the ideas she brings forth are just one facet of her creativity. She possesses a refreshing perspective that I find inspiring. She’s an artist in every sense, and I truly appreciate the energy and atmosphere she creates.”
